U.S. patent number 6,102,204 [Application Number 09/132,469] was granted by the patent office on 2000-08-15 for floral transporter.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Horticultural Technologies, Inc.. Invention is credited to Wayne Castleberry.
United States Patent |
6,102,204 |
Castleberry |
August 15, 2000 |
Floral transporter
Abstract
A transport container for fragile articles having a
substantially rigid base member with a bottom planar surface. A
plurality of flexible foamed plastic members having the same
overall shape as the base member stacked and secured together
forming a container body which is secured to the base member. Each
of the flexible foamed plastic members defines a plurality of
throughgoing substantially circular cutouts with a tooth assembly
for each cutout extending inward toward the center point of each
substantially circular cutout. The foamed plastic member cutouts
axially aligned with cutouts of an adjacent foamed plastic member
to form a stepped bore which can hold various sized articles.
Inventors: |
Castleberry; Wayne (Richmond,
VA) |
Assignee: |
Horticultural Technologies,
Inc. (Richmond, VA)
|
Family
ID: |
22454209 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/132,469 |
Filed: |
August 11, 1998 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/423; 206/523;
206/585; 47/65.5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
5/503 (20130101); B65D 85/52 (20130101); B65D
81/022 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
5/50 (20060101); B65D 81/02 (20060101); B65D
85/52 (20060101); B65D 085/50 () |
Field of
Search: |
;206/3,423,523,585,589,562,563,433 ;47/65.5,84,66.5 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Sewell; Paul T.
Assistant Examiner: Lam; Nhan T.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hale; John S. Gipple & Hale
Claims
What I claim is:
1. A transport container for holding varying size articles,
comprising:
a rigid base portion and a foamed plastic flexible container body
portion secured to said base portion, said body portion having a
top surface which is planar and a base portion with a bottom planar
surface, and comprising a plurality of stacked section members,
each section member defining a plurality of throughgoing cutouts of
different sizes which are axially
aligned with the cutouts of an adjacent container member to form a
stepped cavity adapted to receive and hold different sized articles
in a fixed position.
2. A transport container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cutouts
are circular with each section member defining a cutout with a
smaller diameter than the cutout of the section member stacked
above it and said body portion defines a plurality of spaced teeth
which extend inward toward the center of said circular cutout.
3. A transport container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rigid
base portion defines slots forming handle grips for carrying said
transport container.
4. A transport container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said body
portion has stacked section members which define at least four
corner cavities and at least one center cavity.
5. A transport container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said body
portion includes a plurality of cavities, each of which has at
least two cutouts which have different diameters when measured
across the same positional plane in each of the section
members.
6. A transport container, comprising: a rigid base section which
allows the container to be carried, a body secured to said base
section defining a plurality of circular bores, each of said bores
defining step portions, with the diameter of each step portion
decreasing from the diameter of the step portion positioned above
it, each step portion including teeth means extending from said
body inwardly toward the center of said bore, said teeth means
comprising a plurality of spaced teeth members, each of said teeth
members being tapered with a base which is wider then its distal
end, said distal end defining a curved outer end surface.
7. A transport container as claimed in claim 6 wherein said teeth
members are spaced by notched cutouts.
8. A transport container as claimed in claim 6 wherein body
comprises a plurality of stacked secured section members, each
section member being constructed of polyurethane foam and defining
a plurality of throughgoing bores that are axially aligned when
stacked upon each other.
9. A transport container as claimed in claim 8 wherein there are
four stacked secured section members, each of said section members
defining a plurality of cutouts which are axially aligned when the
section members are stacked with each cutout having a diameter less
than the cutout of the stacked member positioned above it.
10. A transport container as claimed in claim 8 wherein said
section members are constructed of a foamed plastic.
11. A transport container as claimed in claim 2 wherein said foamed
plastic members are rectangular in shape.
12. A transport container assembly, comprising:
a rigid base member with a bottom planar surface, a plurality of
flexible foamed plastic members having the same overall shape as
the base member stacked on said base member and secured together
forming a container body which is secured to said base member, each
of said flexible foamed plastic members defining a plurality of
throughgoing cutouts with a tooth assembly for each cutout
extending inward toward the center point of each cutout, said
foamed plastic member cutouts being axially aligned with cutouts of
an adjacent foamed plastic member to form a stepped bore, wherein
each tooth of said tooth assembly is tapered with the base being
wider than the distal end.
13. A transport container assembly as claimed in claim 12 wherein
each cutout is circular and the number of teeth in said tooth
assembly range from 6 to 12 teeth.
14. A transport container assembly as claimed in claim 12 wherein
said container assembly is surrounded by an impervious layer of
plastic.
15. A transport container assembly as claimed in claim 12 wherein
said base member has a planar bottom surface and defines a
plurality of throughgoing slots forming handle grips.
16. A transport container for holding varying size articles,
comprising:
a rigid base portion, a foamed plastic flexible container body
portion mounted on and secured to said rigid base portion, said
body portion comprises a plurality of stacked secured flexible
section members, each section member defining a plurality of
throughgoing cutouts of different sizes which are axially aligned
with the cutouts of an adjacent section member to form a plurality
of stepped cavities adapted to receive and hold different sized
articles in a fixed position to provide shock protection for said
articles when mounted in said cavities, said body portion having a
top surface which is planar and said base portion being provided
with a bottom planar surface.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a container for
transporting articles and is specifically directed toward a
container for transporting horticultural articles such as floral
arrangements.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are a number of major problems encountered in providing for
the shipment of cut and live flowers and plants and other articles
in that the vases, pots, baskets, and receptacles holding same must
be securely held in an upright position during shipment from the
florist to the final destination and kept from tilting, tipping
over or breaking. Furthermore, multiple shipments of different
sized and configured items being made to different locations and
transported in the same vehicle must be kept from
engaging each other during transit to prevent damage to the plants,
flowers and receptacles holding the articles. Since delivery
personnel are generally part time or unskilled workers with little
to no experience in handling delicate shipments and may have
minimal job dedication, there is a need to have shipping containers
which can be easily handled by the florist and/or delivery
personnel to prevent tipping and breakage of the product. There is
also a need to be able to stack product so that maximum space
utilization can be obtained in the vehicle.
The prior art discloses several examples of containers used for
floral transport. As an example U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,915 is directed
toward a shipping container of cardboard which holds a pot in place
inside the container. The floral arrangement is placed in a pot
filled with a block of foamed potting medium and the flowers are
held in the container by a foam block disposed above the medium
block. U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,461 is directed toward a floral holder
which includes a bucket and a lid which is shaped and dimensioned
to removably fit on the bucket. The lid is formed with a number of
spaced apart openings communicating with a plurality of sleeves
secured to and extending downward from the lid projecting inside
the bucket. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,486,932 a flower holder container
having a bottom wall and a cylindrical disclosed. The inner surface
of the cylindrical side wall of the container is formed with a
plurality of peripherally spaced inwardly extending vertical
flanges. Each flange is provided with several shoulders which are
progressively offset toward the center of the container to form
ledges for supporting one or more disc shaped shelves which have
notches of a radial depth to seat on specific shoulders of the
flanges. The disc shelves can hold flowers or a flower pot in
registration with the top of the container.
The present invention solves the above problems in a manner not
disclosed in the known prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed toward a plastic foam container
defining a plurality of stepped cavities of decreasing diameter
which receive and hold articles in a fixed position. A plurality of
teeth or fingers extend from the container body into the
cavities.
A need exists for a low cost container that can be easily stored,
absorbs impact shock and when used provides a stable platform for
the articles which it carries. Institutional or commercial
purchasers buy containers in large quantities and typically need to
store them in a storage area until needed. Although some attempts
have been made to meet this need for a low cost stackable container
in the prior art, no present device has had the right combination
of cost, compact shipping and storage, simple construction, with an
easy loading and handling capability. The container of the present
invention solves these problems and provides institutions with a
convenient, high quality alternative to the cardboard and wire
containers which had previously been available to them.
It is an object of the invention to provide a shipping container
which can selectively hold and secure fragile articles having
different sizes.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a
transport container which absorbs shocks without transmitting the
shock force to the article being carried.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide large volume
purchasers with a device that is highly compact and one that can be
easily stored, stacked and transported.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a device that
can be quickly and easily loaded and unloaded by a single unskilled
person without tools or complicated hardware.
In the accompanying drawings, there is shown an illustrative
embodiment of the invention from which these and other objectives,
novel features and advantages will be readily apparent.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the floral transporter
container;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cavity of the floral transporter
container shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the floral transporter
container shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 shows a cross sectional view taken along line 4'--4' of FIG.
1;
FIG. 5 shows a cross sectional schematic representation of a large
corner cavity shown in the cross sectional view taken along line
4'--4' of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 shows a schematic representation of the smaller center
cavity shown in the perspective view of FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a cavity of the floral
transporter container with a slotted ring configuration replacing
the tooth and notch configuration shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of a cavity of an alternative
conical cavity and longitudinal rib embodiment of the invention;
and
FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a cavity of another
alternative conical cavity and ring embodiment of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The best mode and the preferred embodiment of the novel container
transporter apparatus of the present invention is shown generally
in FIGS. 1 through 6.
FIG. 1 illustrates the container 10 holding a vase 100 containing
flowers or another arrangement for delivery. The container 10 which
is preferably 24 inches square and 10 inches high is constructed
with a rigid non-absorbent polystyrene base member 12 provided with
a plurality of hand cutouts 14. Any other non-absorbent high
strength plastic or coated corrugated coated cardboard can be
readily substituted for the material of the present base member.
Polystyrene has been selected because it can absorb shock through
the flexible cell structure of the material while retaining
rigidity allowing it to maintain shape when handled and lifted. The
hand cutouts 14 as seen in FIG. 3 are slot shaped and cut through
the plastic base member 12 to allow shipping personnel to hold the
container 10 stable while it is being carried and to allow the
handler to lift and pull the container across the carpet in a van.
The base member 12 as noted is preferably constructed of
polystyrene formed in a square 24 inches by 24 inches and 1 inch in
thickness having a planar top surface 15, and a planar bottom
surface 16 which is provided for seating on the bed of a truck or
van in order to form a stable platform which is substantially tip
proof. The planar bottom surface 16 has four hand cutouts 14 of an
oval shape about 31/2 inches in length and 3/4 inches in width
which extend through the base member 12. A series of container
section members 18 preferably formed of an absorbent polyurethane
foam with a size of 24 inches by 24 inches and ranging from 2
inches to 21/2 inches in thickness are stacked upon each other and
secured to each other to form a unified construction. The section
members 18 are flexible because of the cell structure of the
polyurethane foam which allows the container 10 to absorb shock
when struck by other boxes or items in the van or truck without
causing the entire container to deform or the shock force to be
transmitted to the article being carried therein while still
holding the article in a stable condition. In addition the
container segment members 18 are constructed of an absorbent
material which allows them to absorb spillage of water or to be pre
loaded with water or a growing medium to keep plants in a fresh
stable condition. Each container member 18 defines a plurality of
throughgoing substantially circular cutouts 22 which together
define a cylindrical stepped bore or cavity 23. Each of the cutouts
22 has inwardly extending spaced fingers, teeth or ribs 24 directed
toward the center of the circular cutout. The circumference of each
cutout 22 is located at least one inch from the outside side wall
19 of the container section member 18 to provide shock protection
to the article being carried. If desired the outside walls 19 of
the container segment members 18 can be covered by a sheet or layer
40 of plastic to provide a sealed container.
The bottom container section member 118 of the stacked members 18
is preferably formed with perpendicular side walls 119, a top
planar surface 120 and a bottom planar surface 121. The body
defines four throughgoing spaced circular cutouts 122 having a
diameter of 31/2 inches and six equally spaced teeth 124 positioned
around the circumference of the cutouts extending inward toward the
center point of the cutout 122. Each tooth 124 has a top planar
surface 127, tapered sides 125 and a curved end surface 126
extending inward from the circumference of the cutout about 9/16 of
an inch. The teeth 124 define a tapered notch 128 between each pair
of teeth. The tapered notches 128 spacing the teeth have a base
portion 130 which is wider then the width of the end opening 132
and are substantially mirror images of the teeth.
The adjacent second stacked container section member 218 is formed
with perpendicular side walls 219, a top planar surface 220 and a
bottom planar surface 221. The body defines four throughgoing
spaced circular cutouts 222. Each cutout 222 has a diameter of 5
inches and six spaced teeth 224 extending inward toward the center
point of the cutout 222. Each tooth has a top planar surface 227,
tapered sides 225 and a curved end surface 226 which extends inward
3/4 inch from the circumference of the cutout toward the center
axis of the cutout cavity. The teeth 224 define a tapered notch 228
between each pair of teeth with the base of the notch being 1 inch
and the top opening of the notch being 3/4 inch. The center points
of each of the circular cutouts 222 are axially aligned with the
center points of each of the circular cutouts 122 of container
member 118 and the notches 228 are positioned over the teeth 124 so
that the notches and teeth of both container member 118 and
container member 218 are staggered when viewed from the top plan
view. The top planar surface 127 of teeth 124 which extend inward
form a seat for the 4 inch vase.
A third stacked container section member 318 is formed with
perpendicular side walls 319, a top planar surface 320 and a bottom
planar surface 321. The body defines four throughgoing spaced
corner circular cutouts 322 and a smaller central cutout 330. Each
corner cutout 322 has a diameter of 71/4 inches and has 12 spaced
teeth 324 extending inward toward the center point of the cutout.
Each tooth 324 has a top planar surface 327, tapered sides 325 and
a curved end surface 326 which extends from the circumference of
the cutout inward 11/8 inches toward the center axis of the cutout.
The center cutout 330 has a diameter of 31/2 inches and 6 equally
spaced teeth 334. Each tooth 334 has a top planar surface 337,
tapered sides 335 and a curved end surface 336 which extends inward
9/16 of an inch toward the center axis of the center cutout 330.
The teeth 324 of each corner cutout 322 define a tapered notch 328
between each pair of teeth with the base of the notch 328 being 3/4
inch and the top opening of the cavity being 5/8 inch. The teeth
334 of the center cutout 330 define a tapered notch 338 between
each pair of teeth with the base of the notch 338 being 3/4 inch
and the top opening of the notch being 5/8 inch. The center axes of
each of the circular corner cutouts 320 are axially aligned with
the center axis of each of the circular cutouts 120 of container
member 118 and the center axis of each of the circular cutouts 220
of container member 218.and the teeth 324 are positioned over the
teeth 224 and the notches 228 of the container member 218. The top
planar surface 227 of teeth 224 which extend inward form a seat for
a funeral pot or a 6 inch basket.
A fourth or top stacked container section member 418 is formed with
perpendicular side walls 419, a top planar surface 420 and a bottom
planar surface 421. The body of the section member defines four
throughgoing spaced corner circular cutouts 422 and a central
cutout 430. Each comer cutout 422 has a diameter of 10 inches and
12 equally spaced teeth 424 extending inward toward the center
point of the cutout. Each tooth 424 has has a top planar surface
427, tapered sides 425 and a curved end surface 426 which extends
from the circumference of the cutout inward 11/8 inches toward the
center axis of the cutout. The center cutout 430 has a diameter of
5 inches and 6 spaced teeth 434 with a top planar surface 437,
tapered sides 435 and a curved end surface 436 which extend inward
3/4 inch toward the center axis of the center cutout 430. The teeth
424 of each comer cutout 422 define a tapered notch 428 between
each pair of teeth with the base of the notch 428 being 11/4 inches
and the top opening of the notch being 1 inch. The teeth 434 of the
center cutout 430 define a tapered notch 438 between each pair of
teeth with the base of the notch 438 being 11/4 inches and the top
opening of the notch 438 being 1 inch. The center points of each of
the circular corner cutouts 422 are axially aligned with the center
points of each of the circular corner cutout 122 of container
member 118, the center points of each of the circular cutouts 222
of container member 218, the center points of each of the circular
cutouts 322 of container member 318. The teeth 424 are positioned
over the notches 328 of the container member 318. The center axis
of center cutout 330 is aligned with the center axis of center
cutout 430 and the teeth 434 are positioned over the notches 338 of
the container member 318. The top planar surface 327 of teeth 324
which extend inward for a seat for a large oval base or a 8 inch
basket. The top planar surface 427 of teeth 424 and the top planar
surface 437 of teeth 434 are planar with the top surface of
container section member 418.
It is also envisioned that the teeth or fingers of each container
member can be replaced with a slotted ring configuration as is
shown in FIG. 7. In this configuration the ring body 50 is provided
with a plurality of slits 52 to provide flexibility. While the
preferred embodiment has circular cutouts 14, other geometrically
arranged cutouts as for example, triangular cutouts and rectangular
cutouts could be used.
In practice the top corner cutout 422 of the top layer of the
container or fourth section member 418 forms a first step. The
teeth 424 are designed to hold a large oval vase or an 8 inch
basket. The planar surfaces of teeth 324 of the third section
member form the seat for the vase or the 8 inch basket. The next
layer corner cutout 322 forms a second step which is designed to
hold a funeral pot or a 6 inch basket with teeth 324. The planar
surfaces of teeth 224 of the section member 218 form the seat for
the funeral pot. The comer cutout 222 forms a third step which is
designed to hold a 4 inch vase within teeth 224 seated on the
planar surfaces 127 of teeth 124. The bottom layer corner cutout
122 forms a fourth step which is designed to hold a bud vase with
its teeth 124, The bud vase is seated on the top surface of base
member 12.
An alternative embodiment 500 is shown in FIG. 8. In this
embodiment the container cavity is a conical cavity 502 with a
plurality of linear ribs 504 running along the inner wall 505 of
the container extending inward toward the center axis 506 of the
conical cavity 502. The ribs 504 are provided with a plurality of
slits 508 running transverse the ribs 504 longitudinal axis. Each
rib has tapering side walls 505 and an end wall 507. Alternately
the rib 504 can be replaced with a plurality of parallel rings 510
which can be spaced by slits 512 or notches 514 to form a series of
steps within the conical cavity allowing easy seating and removal.
It is understood that the term conical cavity also includes
frustrum or truncated cone shapes.
The principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the
present invention have been described in the foregoing
specification. However, the invention should not be construed as
limited to the particular embodiments which have been described
above. Instead, the embodiments described here should be regarded
as illustrative rather than restrictive. Variations and changes may
be made by others without departing from the scope of the present
invention as defined by the following claims:
* * * * *